Caroline Herschel (1750 - 1848)

Caroline Herschel was the first woman to discover a comet. Her work with her brother, William Herschel, led to the discovery of the planet Uranus.

Known for
Finding several comets

First woman to be awarded a Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1828), and to be named an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society (1835, with Mary Somerville)

When the crown began paying her for her assistance to her brother in 1787, she became the first woman—at a time when even men rarely received wages for scientific enterprises—to receive a salary for their services to science.

Caroline added her final entry to her observing book on 31 January 1824 about the Great Comet of 1832, which had already been discovered on 29 December 1823.

Find more
Wikipedia

Women rock science tumblr